Nicky Henderson has confirmed that his regular star Sir Gino will begin his chasing career this season.
The four-year-old is unbeaten in four starts, including a 10-length defeat at Burdett Road and a Grade 1 victory at Aintree in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in January.
Sir Gino took part in his fifth steeplechase with regular partner Constitution Hill at Newcastle on November 30, but a different route is now planned.
Henderson told Unibet: “After much consultation with (owners) Joe Donnelly, Marie Donnelly, Nico (de Boinville) and myself, we have come to the conclusion that Sir Gino will be in the hunt this season.
“Obviously we’ve got Constitution Hill and then Statesman (also owned by the Donnellys) which is seriously in the equation so it wasn’t a difficult decision.
“Sir Gino is very good at showjumping and jumping so I think we should stick with that and if things don’t go as planned we can always go back to the showjumping we did a few years ago with Bubber D.’ Air.”
“I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I want to watch it right now and it works really well.”
“The plan is to start him in the two-mile, two-furlong novice race he used for Altior and Shishkin at Kempton on November 25. I think we should try there because it’s usually a pretty “friendly” race.
“He said that at Fight 5, but that’s just speculation. God forbid, in case something happens that interferes with his participation at Constitution Hill.”
